Two-way pipe roller rest



Feb. 2, 1954 w. B. PRIDY TWO-WAY PIPE ROLLER REST Filed July 31, 1951 a,m m 5 m M 4 w M v lill l Patented Feb. 2, 1954 UNITED STAT r enrorcioeThis invention relates to equipment for handl'ing pipe and particularlyto supports for pine permitting this to be optionally fed longitudinallyor rotated about its own axis.

It is an object of this invention to provide. a two-way pipe roller restwhich may be provided in single or multiple units to support a length ofpipe and which will support said pipe by rolling contact therewith whensaid pipe is shifted: longitudinally and which is readily adjustable tosupport said pipe by rolling contact therewith when said pipe is rotatedabout its own axis, said adjustment being affecteod' without asubstantial change in the level at which said pipe is supported.

It is another object of this invention to prov such a twoway pipe rollerrest in which said p e is supported for longitudinal movement on thesame rollers on which said pipe is supported for rotational movement.

Another object is to provide such an invention which willrequire aminimum of attention for cleaning and lubrication and will operate forlong periods in the presence of considerable amounts of scale and otherabrasive matter without attention for maintenance being necessary.

The manner of accomplishing, the foregoing objects as well as furtherobjects and advantages are made mainfest in the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l isv adiagrammatic elevational view of a pair of two-way pipe roller restunits in which the present invention in embodied.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional View through one of said unitsand is taken on the line 2'-2 of Fig. l and shows the pipe supportingrollers positioned to support a length of pipe for longitudinalmovement.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 and illustrates the roller base ofsaid unit swung to position the pipe supporting rollers to support saidpipe for rotational movement.

Fig. 4 is a side elevational View taken in the direction of the arrow iiin Fig. 3.

Referring specifically to the drawings and particularly to Fig. 1 alength of pipe H3 is here shown as being supported on a pair of two-waypipe roller rest units i l and i2 which are identical in construction sothat a description of one will suffice for both.

Unit ll includes a standard it which is mounted in the ground orpavement Hi, there being a ditch 15' formed in the latter for apurposeztobe presently described.

6 Claims. (01. 2141) Unit H also includes a cradle base I16. which isfixed on the upper end of the standard [3 and has posts ll welded toits. opposite ends and. extending upward in parallel relation. Theseposts are provided with aligned bores (8 for receiving pins l9 Whichareheld in fixed; positions by set screws 20 provided in said posts-.5Swmgably sup ported on pins l9 i's a cradle'25 including a longitudinalmember 26 which is fabricated to include a piece of channeliron 22'! and a bar 28 which fits between the flanges of channel iron 21and is welded. thereto. Welded to opposite ends of longitudinatmember 26and extending upwardly therefrom are arms 28 havingalignedbearingapertures ill-into which thepins t9. extend to swingably support:the cradle 25.

One of the arms'291-is provided withv av control arm 3| the purpose ofwhich. will be made clear hereinafter.

Ptotatably mounted on the longitudinal member 26 by'means of a pair ofmandrels 40' is a pair of rollers 4| having hemispherical externalsurfaces 42'. The mandrels ie-are mounted with their axessubstantiallyparallel with. the arms 29 and intersecting the axis of the pins l9 atthe center points. or the. hemispherical surfaces: 42:01? rollers 4|.

Each mandrel ill is shaped as: shown in Fig. 2 to include a base section43 from which a boss 4'4 extends downwardly through one of a pair ofholes $5, formed in the channel iron 21 ofthe longitudinal member- 25.Capscrews. 46- extend up through suitable apertures in the bar 2.8 andscrew into tapped holes inthe boss 44 to. rigidly assemble mandrel: it!on the longitudinal member 26. Each mandrel also includesa main bearingsection ll and a stem section 4'8 the. upper end of which is threadedandis. provided with alubrication nipple 59 which connects through a hole56: with the space surrounding the-"base of the sternv section 48..

Each roller il' has a bore 6'0 vfrom which are formed lowercounter-bores BI, 62: and B3. and an upper counter-bore. Resting in thecounter-bore 62 against the shoulder formed at the upper end thereof isa mainthrust bearing ill the inner race of which fits over the mandrelsection 4 1 against the base section 43. Slidably fitting into thecounter-bore- 64 against the shoulder at the lower end thereof and aboutthe mandrel stem section" 48 is a secondary thrustbearing 1'5. Alsosl'i'dablyreceiving the mandrel stem portion 48 and rests ing on the.inner race-"of bearing 15- is a sleeve 8i! against whiche nut 8|presses, when it i screwed downwardly onto the threaded upper end of thestem section 48, to compactly unite the roller 4! and bearings 79 and I5in assembled relation on the mandrel 49 with the center point of thesurface 42 of said roller lying at the intersection of the axis of thismandrel and the axis of pinsl9. Fitting tightly in the counter-bore 63is a peripherally metal-shod packing ring or seal 85 the inner face ofwhich slides upon the periphery of the mandrel base section 43; Fittingtightly into the counter-bore 64 is a peripherally metal-shod packingring or seal 86 the inner surface of which slidably fits the sleeve 80,the packing rings 85 and 83 excluding abrasive matter from the space 81between the mandrel 49 and the roller 4] in which the bearings I9 and 15are disposed.

The bearings 19 and '55 are supplied with lubricant injected into thespace 91 through the hole 59 by a grease gun applied to the nipple 49.

In referring to parts of unit l2, use will be made of reference numeralsapplied to similar parts of unit H with prime attached. For controllingthe units H and i2 links 99 and 99' are pivotally connected at theirupper ends to arms 3| and 3i and at their lower ends to the upper armsof bell cranks 9! and 9! which are pivotally mounted on the standards I3 and I 3, the lower arms of said bell cranks extending downward intothe ditch i5 and being pivotally connected with opposite ends of a link92. The bell crank 9! has a handle 93 equipped with a spring mechanism 9which yieldably urges a dog 95 into one or the other of two notches 93provided in a quadrant 9! which is fixed to the standard l3 to set theunits H and I 2 with the axes of the rollers 4| and '4! thereof eitherin vertical position as shown in Figs. '1 and 2 or horizontally disposedas shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The mechanism 94 is adapted to be actuated toWithdraw the dog 95 from the notch 96 in which it is resting bysimultaneously clasping the handle 93 and a bell crank 98 of saidmechanism.

When the rollers M and 4 I are positioned with their axes vertically asshown in Figs. 1 and 2, pipe [9 may be caused to roll longitudinally onthese rollers with the application of relatively small efiort. At anytime while the pipe I!) is resting on units I I and I2 that it may bedesired to rotate said pipe, as to facilitate a slotting operationthereon, the dog 95 is withdrawn from the notch 96 in which it rests, asshown in Fig. 1, the handle 93 is swung to the point at which the dog 95is propelled by the mechanism 9 3 into the other notch 99 in quadrant91, thereby swinging the cradles 25 of units H- and l2 90 degrees aboutthe axes of the pins l9|9 and then setting said cradles in their newpositions as shown in Figs. 3 and i.

The rollers 4i and 4! are now disposed with their axes parallel with theaxis of the pipe l0 so as to give rolling support to said pipe wherebythe latter may with relatively small effort be rotated about its ownaxis.

After the desired rotation of pipe I!) has been accomplished, thesetting of units H and I2 may remain unchanged to facilitate furtherrotation of pipe H! at a later stage in whatever operations are beingperformed thereon in connection with its being supported on units H andI2 or, if no further rotation is anticipated as desirable prior to itagain being necesasry to shift pipe [0 longitudinally, the units II andI2 may again be reset with the roller axes vertical, by a reverse actionof the lever 93 to that described hereinabove in which said axes werechanged from vertical to horizontal.

The present invention is especially adapted for use in connection withpipe slotting machines in which gang mills are employed. In such anoperation a pipe length 40 ft. long might be slotted by a gang millcapable of forming slots in only 10 ft. of pipe at one time. To bringthe pipe 19 into this machine and locate it for starting the slottingoperations on the initial 10 ft. of said pipe, the rollers 4I9l arepositioned with their axes vertical. To slot the first ten foot sectionof this pipe length the milling machine makes a. series of single filerows of slots in said section, the pipe I0 being rotated by uniformstages between successive slotting operations so that lines of slots areformed in said section of pipe entirely around the same at uniformspaced intervals. To facilitate rotating the pipe Ill during this seriesof operations, the rollers ll-4| would be disposed with their axeshorizontally. As soon as this series of operations are completed,however, and it is desired to perform a similar series of operations onthe next ten foot section of the pipe length ill, the rollers lll4l arereturned to their position shown in Fig. 1 which facilitates shiftingthe pipe length It] longitudinally ten feet further into the millingmachine. As soon as the pipe I9 is properly repositioned lengthwise forthis new series of operations the lever 93 is swung ninety degrees toposition rollers 4 l--4 I as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

A particular advantage of this invention may be seen in the fact thatsupport of the pipe length It on the rollers 41-4! is maintained withoutlifting or lowering said pipe when said rollers are swung between one oftheir two positions above described and the other of said positions.This is because in being shifted from one of said positions to theother, said rollers are swung about the center points of thehemispherical surfaces 42 of said rollers upon which said pipe isresting and because the axes of said rollers are parallel and are swungin vertical planes to effect P each of said shifts in position.

One of the results of this is to make it relatively easy to swing thelever 93 in shifting the rollers of units II and [2 between their twooperating positions. Another result is to reduce the strain andconsequent wear on the mechanism for controlling the positions of saidrollers.

In my co-pending application Serial No. 127,125 filed on November 14,1949, I have disclosed a method and apparatus for slotting screen pipe.Included in said apparatus is a machine having an elevator onlongitudinally spaced rests on which a pipe is supported while saidelevator lifts said pipe against a series of cutting saws by which thepipe is slotted. In other forms of slotting machines for effecting thesame purpose the pipe is supported upon similar rests while cutter sawsare carried on a vertically reciprocating power head which lowers saidsaws against the pipe, while the latter remains stationary, so as to cutslots therein.

It is to be understood that the two-way pipe roller rest units II and 12of my invention may be applied to the pipe supporting rests in either ofsaid types of machines to support said pipe while it is being slottedtherein. The support thus afforded said pipe will facilitate either thelongitudinal movement of said pipe in said machine or the rotation ofsaid pipe between successive slotting operation in slotting a givensection of said pipe as well as the longitudinal movement of said pipewhen moving the pipe into or out of the machine, or when, following thecompletion of the slotting of one section of pipe, it is desired to movethe latter longitudinally to present a fresh uncut section to the saws.

Another distinct advantage of this invention is its ruggedness inoperation freedom from impairment by abrasive matter such as scale anddirt which is generally present in the environment in which theinvention is employed.

The claims are:

1. In a two-way pipe roller rest, the combination of: a cradle baseincluding posts extencin upwardly therefrom; a cradle including a lo"tudinal member and arms vriding upwait from opposite ends thereof, saidarms having aligned apertures; aligned mounted on posts for extendinginto said apertures to pivotally mount said cradle on said base; a pairof bearing mandrels mounted on said longitudinal cradle member inparallelism ii said arms so that the ar s of said inandrels intersectthe of said pins; a pair of hemispherical rollers rotatably mounted onsaid mandrels, the center points of the hemispherical faces of saidrollers lying substantially at the points of intersection of the axes ofsaid mandrels with the axis of said pins; and means to optionally setsaid cradle with. said mandrels disposed either vertically orhorizontally.

2. In a two-way pipe roller rest, the combination of: a cradle baseincluding posts extending upwardly therefrom; a cradle including alongitudinal member and arms extending upwardly from opposite endsthereof, said arms having aligned apertures; aligned pins mounted onsaid posts for extending into said apertures to pivotally mount saidcradle on said base; a pair of bearing mandrels mounted on saidlongitudinal cradle member in parallelism with said arms so that theaxes of said mandrels intersect the axis of said pins, each mandrelhaving a base section, and a relatively small diameter upper stemsection; a pair of rollers having hemispherical outer faces, each rollerhaving a central bore and. upper and lower counter-bores into which saidmandrels extend; opposed thrust bearings for each of said rollers thelower of said bearings fitting against a mandrel base section and withinthe lower counter-bore of said roller, the upper of said thrust bearingsfitting about the stem section or said mandrel and within the uppercounter-bore of said roller, said rollers thus being rotatably mountedon said mandrels; nuts on said mandrel stem sections to compactlyassemble said rollers and bearings on said mandrels with the centerpoints of the hemispherical outer surfaces of said rollers lyingapproximately at the points of intersection between the axes of saidmandrels and the axis of said pins; and. control 6 means for optionallysetting said cradle with said mandrels disposed vertically orhorizontally.

3. In a two-way pipe roller rest, the combination of: a cradle base; acradle swingably rnoiuited on a horizontal axis on said base; a pair ofhemispherical rollers rotatably mounted on parallel axes on said cardle,said axes intersecting the axis on which said cradle is swingable onsaid base at right angles therewith and at approximately the centers ofthe hemispherical outer races of said rollers; and means for optionallysetting said cradle in a position in which said roller axes are verticalor in a, position in which said roller axes are horizontal.

i. A tiple pipe rest comprising a plurality of aligned units eachincluding a cradle base, a cradle swingably mounted on a transversehorizontal on said base, a pair of hemispherical rollers rotatablymounted on parallel axes on said cradle, said axes intersecting thecradle axis at right angles therewith and at approximately the centersof the hemispherical outer faces of said rollers; and means foroptionally and simultaneously setting said cradles of said units withthe roller axes thereof vertical or with said axes horizontal.

5. In a two-way pipe roller rest, the combination of: a cradle base; acradle swingably mounted on a given axis on said base; a pair of rollersrotatab-ly mounted on said cradle on axes which intersect said cradleaxis; and means for select vely shifting said cradle to either of twoone with reference to a pipe supported on said rollers, the first ofsaid positions being with said roller axes in a plane substantially atright angles said pipe and the second of said positions -eing with saidroller axes in a plane substantially parallel with said pipe.

8. In a two-way pipe roller rest, the combination or": a cradle base; acradle swingably mounted on a given axis on said base; a pair of rollersrotatably mounted on said cradle on axes which are non-parallel withsaid cradle axis; and. means for selectively shifting said cradle aboutits axis to either of two positions, the first of said positions beingwith said roller axes in a plane substantially at right angles to saidpipe and the second of said positions being with said roller axes in aplane substantially parallel with said pipe.

WHETSTINE BUCK PRIDY.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,184,614 Brightman May 23, 1916 1,460,236 Stenhouse June 26,1923 1,911,485 Axlund May 30, 1933 2,103,811 Davis Dec. 28, 1937

